Chapter 43: Eight Hundred is Just One Hundred and Eighty

They say women are fickle, and indeed, this is an ironclad rule summarized by countless ancestors.

If she won't show it, she won't show it. What's the rush?

Does she really think I'm some wide-eyed kid experiencing first love? Just a little teasing and I'm supposed to be incredibly shy? I've undergone over a decade of modern education, after all, and I've had more than one "teacher" on the internet.

Besides, he had to thank today's short-video platforms. Every beautiful girl on there looked like a celestial fairy. If it were the old days, how could a pauper like him ever have the chance to see hot, scantily clad girls dancing for him?

It was great now; the people got to see first, and as it happened, he was "the people."

Simply put, as long as the Great Emperor Ruyan didn't get handsy, his "red-temperature" mechanism remained quite stable. Contemporary youth had fairly high resistance to verbal and visual teasing.

After Liu Ruyan lightly patted him a few times with her jade-like hands, the matter passed.

"Hmph, if you dare tease your sister again, you'll regret it. Let's go, I'll take you back to school."

With that, Liu Ruyan clapped her hands and walked out the door with a swaying, rhythmic gait.

As for Lin Mo, he merely shrugged, signaling that he couldn't afford to provoke this "ceiling" of scumbags. After all, this was the Liu Ruyan, whose path of scumbaggery was eternal.

After looking around his place of several months and finding nothing forgotten, Lin Mo left the keys on the coffee table and sent a message to the landlady to come collect the room.

There was no sense of loss. Just as he had said, this was merely a temporary residence, far from the dormitory he had lived in for three years that actually evoked nostalgia.

Taking the elevator down, he saw Liu Ruyan's car parked downstairs. After placing his suitcase in the back seat, the two of them got in.

As the car slowly started and drove out of the residential complex, he caught a glimpse of the "wife" from the fourth floor walking inside with a man. He wasn't sure if it was her new husband or a prospective tenant.

At the entrance of the complex, He Qiang's supermarket was open as usual. He Qiang's wife was taking out the trash, though He Qiang himself was nowhere to be seen—perhaps at work or out fishing.

As the car gradually moved away, the residential complex behind them began to blur. If nothing unexpected happened, he likely wouldn't return here again.

"What, did you actually grow attached to living here?" Liu Ruyan asked with a laugh while driving.

Lin Mo curled his lip. "Not really. It's just that sudden discomfort when you leave a place you've grown used to. I'll be fine once I'm back at school; I'm more familiar with that side. By the way, where's my Optimus Prime?"

He hadn't forgotten that Liu Ruyan had run out clutching his figurine. Now the person was here, but Optimus Prime was gone.

"Don't even mention it. That crappy Optimus Prime with its legs spread open... I confiscated it, okay?" Hearing the name "Optimus Prime," Liu Ruyan seemed to have a bit of a stress reaction.

There was no helping it; Liu Ruyan had never experienced such social death in her entire life. Optimus Prime was simply her nemesis. She decided it was better to handle it herself rather than let someone else hold it over her head.

The two chatted as they drove toward the outskirts of the city. About an hour later, the sign for Jiangning University of Science and Technology appeared before them.

Liu Ruyan parked the car haphazardly near the school gate. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Lin Mo felt an immediate sense of relief. He was back; everything was back.

"We're here. Your school is pretty empty, isn't it?" Liu Ruyan asked, glancing outside while holding the steering wheel.

"Classes don't start until the 1st. There definitely won't be many people on campus right now," Lin Mo explained.

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan slapped her forehead. "Look at my memory! I forgot you college students have summer breaks."

Lin Mo unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled. "Sister Ruyan has already graduated, so naturally, you don't have summer or winter breaks. It's normal to forget. Alright, thanks for the ride, Sister Ruyan. I'm heading off."

As he spoke, he moved to open the door to get out, but Liu Ruyan grabbed him back.

"Wait a minute."

Lin Mo: "?"

"Is there something else, Sister Ruyan?"

"Hand!"

"What for? You're not going to take another photo, are you?" Lin Mo was on guard; she had used that trick the first time they met while sober.

"Give it or don't, but don't regret it later," Liu Ruyan said irritably.

Seeing this, Lin Mo obediently held out his hand. In the next second, an exquisite watch was fastened onto his wrist by Liu Ruyan.

"Mmm~ not bad. I told you this style would suit you, and indeed it does." While holding his hand, Liu Ruyan admired it for a moment, feeling it looked quite good.

Lin Mo himself knew nothing about watches and had never worn one; he usually checked the time on his phone. But judging by the appearance of the watch and the status of the Great Emperor Ruyan, he had a feeling this thing wasn't cheap.

"This... this is?"

"A gift. Consider it my thanks for your secret recipe. So, is your sister good to you?" Liu Ruyan let go of his hand and spoke with eyes full of smiles.

"Didn't you already buy me clothes? You don't need to do this," Lin Mo said, attempting to take the watch off. After all, the clothes from yesterday weren't cheap—they cost tens of thousands.

"Don't you dare take it off. It's just a few clothes; that was because you looked too shabby and didn't match my watch. Besides, do you think I'm the kind of person who only gives a few clothes? That girl Yuan Meng could give a hundred thousand; what am I lacking? In the future, remember to think of me when you have something good, you hear me?" Liu Ruyan spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

Although she didn't know where Lin Mo's "stuff" came from, it certainly worked. If she could get it once, she might get it a second time; she had to build a good relationship first.

"Come, make a heart with me for a commemorative photo." As she spoke, Liu Ruyan took out her phone and extended one hand, forming half a heart, signaling for him to complete it.

Lin Mo had no choice. He sighed and reached out to complete the heart, but in the next second, several red banknotes were stuffed into his hand.

With a *click*, Liu Ruyan smiled with satisfaction. "Alright, you can go now!"

"Huh? This..." Lin Mo stared at the banknotes in his hand, somewhat dazed.

"What, is it not enough? Eight hundred isn't nothing. For a male model with a bit of looks like you, eight hundred is the price. Your sister didn't play for nothing!"

As she spoke, Liu Ruyan deliberately rolled down his window and raised her voice slightly.

Lin Mo:...

He didn't even have to think to know this was absolutely a prank by the Great Emperor Ruyan. It was too malicious!

"What are you looking at? Get out!"

With that, Liu Ruyan shoved him out of the car and floored the accelerator, speeding away.

"Holy crap... I'm done for. I've been turned into a gigolo!"

After a long moment of stunned silence, clutching the banknotes, Lin Mo suddenly realized he had been played. She was messing with him!

If things went as expected, that scene just now was almost certainly recorded by Liu Ruyan as a video. Wouldn't she use this to tease him for the rest of his life?

Just as he was thinking this, Liu Ruyan's car reversed back. He saw the Great Emperor Ruyan hurriedly get out, open the door, and grab his suitcase and laptop bag. She then stuffed a watch box into his hands, got back in the car, and sped off again.

It had to be said, her "cool factor" had plummeted to the ground.

Everything happened so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

After a long while, Lin Mo regained his senses and gritted his teeth.

"Eight hundred it is! I'll get you back! Whoever chickens out is a grandson!"

(End of Chapter)